As robot adoption accelerates, leading domestic robotics firms including HD Hyundai Robotics, Doosan Robotics, and Hanwha Robotics are shifting focus from stationary collaborative robots (cobots) to mobile robots that move autonomously, heating up the undercurrent of competition.
According to industry insiders on Sept. 19, HD Hyundai Robotics, South Korea’s leading industrial robot company, has actively embarked on R&D in the IT domain, including autonomous driving, AI-based perception technology, multi-control, and remote-control technology. Beyond their recently launched serving and disinfection robots, the company plans to commercialize short-range delivery robots.
South Korea’s top cobot manufacturer, Doosan Robotics, has also set its sights on mobile robots as the next progression after cobots. Doosan Robotics has set its short-term goal to enter the autonomous mobile robot market and plans to allocate part of the funds raised from its year-end Initial Public Offering (IPO) towards the acquisition of an autonomous robot enterprise.
Hanwha Robotics, which is slated to launch in October, is also heavily invested in mobile robots. Formerly under Hanwha Corporation/Momentum’s factory automation division, Hanwha Robotics aims to leverage synergies between its existing cobots and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) businesses. By 2026, they plan to release autonomous building management robots and electric vehicle charging robots to the market.
Rainbow Robotics, which received an investment from Samsung Electronics earlier this year, also intends to commercialize its autonomous serving robot by the end of the year.
The surge in the development of mobile robots among companies that traditionally produced stationary robots, like industrial robots or cobots, can be attributed to advancements in AI and vision technology, allowing them to overcome spatial constraints. While cobots mainly centered around manufacturing automation, mobile robots also have the advantage of serving consumer markets such as delivery and serving.
Another factor contributing to the rapid development of mobile robots is South Korea’s excellent IT infrastructure. While nations like Germany and Japan, with their superior precision technology, have traditionally led the field of industrial robots and cobots, mobile robots primarily rely on software technologies like vision and AI, where South Korea has a comparative edge. As a result, leading firms are rolling up their sleeves to capture a piece of the expanding market.
Not just in South Korea, but labor shortages in major developed countries are also spurring the development of humanoid robots. According to industry reports, the South Korean serving robot market, which was worth 60 billion won in 2021, is projected to grow to 200 billion won this year. The chronic labor shortage in the U.S., combined with significant recent hikes in minimum wage, is also stimulating demand for mobile robots globally. California’s minimum wage, for instance, is on a steep upward trajectory, currently sitting at $15.50 (approximately 20,000 won) per hour.